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Her face is pale, even more than usual. She’s pulled her long black hair back in a neat braid. I resist the urge to comfort her. That’s not what we are to one another, and she’d shove me away regardless.
Alexei steps up behind his twin, following as she leads the way into the compound.
Arthur stands in a black three-piece suit at the end of the hall. I recognize it to be the same one we escaped out of. The same one I’d been locked up in for several days.
I clench my fists, and Cilla pulls one toward her, uncurls my fingers, and laces hers along mine. I swallow, attempting to calm down. I have to be here for Andrea, for Valentina. This isn’t just about me. There are others this family has hurt way worse. Sal may be dead, but everything he loved still stands, which is unacceptable.
Arthur leads us into a sitting room, but we all remain standing. “Can I offer you some refreshment, tea, coffee, whiskey?”
Adrian shakes his head and speaks for all of us. “This isn’t a social visit. We are here to see to your end of the agreement and nothing more.”
There’s a slight slump to Arthur’s shoulders as if he expected Adrian to walk in here as his friend. But he’s Andrea’s friend, Kai’s friend, and as long as he is, he’ll never be Arthur’s.
Arthur walks to an intercom near the door and speaks into it. “Get them ready. We are coming down.”
He leads us back down the hall to another room, this one sterile like a lab. When he opens a curtain, we spot bodies lined up neatly on the floor through the glass. They are awake and struggling. Every member of Sal’s family runs his pedophile rings. Including the only man left who had a hand in Andrea’s attack.
She steps up to the window. “Can they see us through here?”
Arthur nods, crossing his hands in front of him. “Yes, they can see you.”
With a smile, she holds her hand up and flips the man off. All of them struggle against the rope bonds around their hands, their feet, and the gags in their mouths. I wonder what it took for him to do this to his own brother? Does he care? Somehow, I can’t imagine he does, especially after what he did to his daughter over the years.
Adrian steps up beside Andrea and puts a supportive hand on the small of her back. He leans in and whispers too softly for anyone else to hear. When Andrea turns her face to speak to him, I spot tears shimmering in her eyes. She won’t let them fall of course, but I’m glad she will finally be able to put this all behind her. Well, maybe once we get rid of Emmanuelle, she’ll be able to.
Something doesn’t sit right with me, though. I don’t trust Arthur or his family, so I want to question everything. I stare at Arthur’s solemn profile from across the room. “Why do this? How can you destroy your brother’s family? Your family so easily?”
Arthur flicks his gaze my way, then locks back on the window. “Just because I’m not weeping doesn’t mean I do this lightly.”
“Then why?” Adrian asks, echoing my question.
There’s more tension in Arthur’s shoulders with all of us focused on him now. He might pretend to be indifferent, but he fears us enough to be wary. Good. “I’m tired of sitting on the outside while he runs our family name into the ground. His business was never going to be legitimate. He’ll never be able to show his face in society without people like you sneering at him. He might not care about his image, but I care about mine. I care about our family legacy and won’t have it tied any longer to peddling children’s flesh.”
Beside me, Cilla squeezes my hand, but she’s not looking at Arthur. She’s staring through the window as well. What does she see? Her uncle, or another man who would use her to break her?
Adrian focuses on Arthur, who, to his credit, doesn’t flinch. “I believe some of that, but what else? You’re not only doing this to resurrect your image.”
Arthur waves at the window. “Maybe I want a seat at the table. With this sort as my family, I’ll never even get into the room.”
I speak up again, unlocking my fingers from Cilla’s and stepping forward. “Well, you aren’t done with your end yet. After I kill them, you can call your side of the bargain complete.”
Adrian cuts in front of me, his shoulder hitting my chest. “No. You won’t kill them. This isn’t just your revenge. We’ll decide together who does it, and it’ll be the person who will get the most from it.”
All of our eyes, save Arthur’s, stray to Andrea. She’s not paying attention to any of us. Her eyes are still locked on that room, and I can’t imagine what’s happening in her head right now. Alexei steps up to stand beside her, his shoulder pressing into hers.
